Creativity is the movement of energy through matter. We are interested in the artist’s studio, the craftsman’s bench, and the bones of saints for the same reason. They are all souvenirs of the divine moment when spirit informs matter. The accumulation and display of these mementos brings us reassurance and inspiration. This particular collection is evidence of creativity moving through myself, my friends and family.

Many people contributed their artifacts and creative byproducts to this collection. What began as an idle aesthetic interest in form became monumental; this collection grew over the course of over three years. I am interested in the habits of each person as they are expressed in each object. Given identical tools and materials to work with, each person makes different marks and leave behind distinctly individual scraps. The wood and metal shavings are a lens through which to look at the expression of individuality.

Paintings and drawings in this exhibition explore my own habits of mark-making. The idle gesture builds to a solid form when repeated. Life-long conditioning produces patterns of expression which are, in their own right, a formidable presence.I question our culture’s value system, which would dismiss the entirety of this collection as worthless. This work is a celebration not of the costly, but of the willingness to inhabit creative action.